


An Octopus's Garden

by tisfan



Series: The Fish Tank and other Creature AUs [14]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: (a little bit), Down where it's wetter, Identity Porn, M/M, Mating, darling it's better, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-25
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2019-07-17 07:05:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16090523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tisfan/pseuds/tisfan
Summary: It's the Prince's birthday, and everyone is giving him a gift so he can chose a mate...well, everyone except Bucky, who's not even allowed in the door.





	An Octopus's Garden

**Author's Note:**

  * For [monobuu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/monobuu/gifts).



“Stupid, stupid, _stupid_ ,” Bucky gurgled to himself, crossing around behind the coral castle, basket tucked between his stump and two of his arms. He flowed up and over the obstacles along the sea floor, taking some sort of grim pleasure in knocking over the carefully placed boulders and decorative stones that made up the gardens. He didn’t even have to strain to do it; despite being short an arm, and another arm, Bucky was as strong as all his people were.

In fact, most of them had been pressed into creating the garden in the first place. They were soldiers and warriors, not _gardeners_. And yet...

It was a garden that none of them were allowed to enjoy.

It was a place for mers, not cephs.

It wasn’t even pretty. It was just status.

Stones and manthings from far away. It made the mers look impressive, that they could afford to bring manthings to the bottom of the ocean.

“What’s stupid?”

There was a young mer hiding in a clump of grasses. Bucky could see the shiny, glittery tail. Greatly daring, a mer, talking to a ceph. Bucky almost didn’t bother to stop or acknowledge the fry in the first place. He wasn’t talking to some stupid mer, he was talking to his stupid self.

But he was also tired, and hungry and the basket was getting heavy and pressing into his ribs where he had braced it.

“The prince’s birthday,” Bucky said. He wrapped himself all the way around one of the manthings -- a stone rendition of a man thing, riding one of those beasts they’d tamed, holding aloft a sharp stone stick. Bucky considered if the stone weapon -- sword, he remembered from his lessons -- was better than the metal harpoon from the whaling ship that Bucky carried into battle more of the time.

Probably not. Metal made for sharper edges, unless it was volcanic stone.

“I agree that the prince’s birthday is exceptionally stupid,” the mer said. “All those gifts, for one person? Ridiculous.”

Well, that wasn’t what Bucky had meant, but when he thought about it, it was true. Hundreds of mers and other denizens of Atlantis would travel for weeks, each to bring a basket of -- call a seashell a seashell, it was _tribute_ \-- offerings to the future king as a gift. The prince was a man, this season. He would mate this year. And it would be at least thirty more turns of the season before another prince or princess would be ready -- the king and queen had only one fry.

The prince would look through the gifts, the gifters, and from them, he would select a mate. It was one of the few opportunities the general population had to raise their situation in life. Mer families would save for decades to be able to offer up a child and a gift for consideration.

And, it kept the prince’s family rich; it wasn’t like they had to return the gifts of those _not_ selected. The prince’s birthday celebration would regenerate the king’s wealth.

Bucky didn’t look back at the mer, probably some local fish who’d dropped his gift off early in the day, and was just waiting around to hear what the prince decided. The line to give an offering stretched ‘round the castle.

And the cephs, a few of them, had tried, they’d tried, it was the only way, but they were moved to the back of the line, and the back, and mers first, and… the line was too long.

He’d never get there with his offering.

Never be considered.

The mers weren’t interested in his offering, weren’t interested in his wealth, if it came at the cost of letting a ceph’s wet and sticky limbs into the castle.

They would turn their back on wealth, because it came from a ceph.

_Disgusting_.

It wasn’t like Bucky wanted to mate the prince, he really didn’t -- or at least, he didn’t want it any more or less than he wanted any other mate. He just wanted the opportunity to show off his people’s wealth.

What they had. What they could offer.

More than just blood and arms.

“Did you bring him a present?” the young mer asked, and he pushed out of the weeds to prop himself up in the sand, looking off in the same direction Bucky was looking.

“Yeah, but-- they won’t let me in to give it,” Bucky said. “Stupid, stuck up, scale-rotten, slithery, slimy, stupid mers.”

“You said stupid twice,” the fry pointed out.

“They’re just that stupid.”

“As a mer, I should be offended.”

“As a mer, you should be _ashamed_ ,” Bucky said. “Ain’t my offering as good as anyone’s?”

“I don’t know,” the fry said. “Can I look?”

“Did you bring the prince a gift?”

“Ah… no,” the fry said.

“You can look,” Bucky decided. He dropped the basket and it sifted down into the sand. He loved the basket, it was one of his favorites. He’d woven it himself, not just a stolen artifact from the air-breathers lands, like so many of the other offerings he’d seen.

The young mer looked through the items; a bubble made from clear stone; inside was a carving and sparkly water. Bucky took it and shook it, letting the sparkles of color and fire float inside the contained bubble. “I like this,” he said. “At my cave, I have dozens of them.”

“It’s lovely,” the young mer agreed.

The offering in the basket included golden rings and coins from one of the manship wreckages, shiny stones and chains. Heavy, soft metals that could be easily shaped and twisted. Two brilliant, sharp knives. A few containers made from the shiny grey metals; filled to the brim with fish and clams and other tasty nibbles.

“I’d be a good provider,” Bucky said. He almost dumped out the basket in disgust. It wasn’t fair. He deserved the opportunity to at least _try_.

“I can see that,” the young mer said. “Can I--”

“Go ahead, have some,” Bucky said. “I don’t care.”

The mer laughed, a delicious sound, really, like he was absolutely delighted. “You care so much they can see it from the surface,” he said. “I like you. What’s your name?”

“Bucky.”

“Tony,” the mer said, swimming around in a circle and offering Bucky a hand. Bucky took it without thinking, letting his arms wrap around, the way they would for any ceph, but Tony wasn’t a ceph, was he? Bucky started to untwine, but Tony grabbed hold of an arm, and looked at the bottom of it. “Huh, I’ve never seen a ceph’s arm up close, it’s kinda… suckery.” He popped a few suckers off his own arm, then inspected the soft, red marks left behind.

“Yeah. Tony? Like the prince.”

“Yeah.” Tony rolled his eyes. “Like the prince.” Tony was poking a finger into one of Bucky’s suckers, which gripped the mer’s finger on automatic. “Hey, it’s giving me kisses.”

Bucky let the water pass over his gills, then stuck a finger in Tony’s mouth, who licked it. “Like that?”

“Well, yeah, I suppose. I mean,” Tony said, spitting out Bucky’s finger and laughing again, that sound, and the way his eyes crinkled up, and the way his whole face just… glowed. Bucky thought he’d do a lot for that laugh. “I mean, you don’t eat with these, do you?”

“No, but…” Bucky shrugged, a ripple of movement across his whole body, letting his skin blend with Tony’s scales, with the rock he was sitting on, with the sandy ocean floor until he was a dappled as a patch of coral. “I mean, that’s… it grips, that’s what suckers are _for_.”

“Huh, okay,” Tony said. “Well, uh, it’s getting on toward night.”

“Yeah, I should go,” Bucky said, gesturing with two of his arms. “My cave’s--”

“No!” Tony yelled, then stopped himself. “No, I mean, come back this way, to the castle.”

“Why?” Like Bucky wanted to see the Prince pick a present, select a mate. It was boring. It didn’t concern the cephs at all. The mers had made sure of that.

“Um…” Tony picked up the basket. “Because I liked your gift. And I like you.”

Bucky couldn’t quite help but smile at that. “Well, at least _someone_ does.” He wasn’t sure how other mers picked their mates. Cephs didn’t really bother much at all, they exchanged eggs during the right season, but they didn’t technically… mate. Not like the mers did, with family lines and lineage and staying together. Cephs were warriors, soldiers. They fought the king’s wars, and they died. What was the point in having a mate, chances were good you wouldn’t see them again.

“Someone, yes,” Tony agreed. “So, uh… this is, I mean, I’m not misreading the situation, you’re… this was a gift, for the Prince, to offer to be his mate?”

“It was,” Bucky said. “But you can have it. I like you, too.”

“Great!” Tony wrapped one arm around Bucky’s middle, letting the arms crawl over Tony’s tail and around his back, until Bucky was half swimming alongside him, and half clinging to him like an enthusiastic basket. Tony dragged the gift, too, and he was strong, stronger than most mers that Bucky’d seen before, which was nice.

Am I getting mated? Bucky wondered. He probably ought to ask, just to be sure. He wasn’t really totally sure what being mating entailed, except that he was supposed to provide food and shelter for his mate. He had those things. He could do those things. He wondered what his mate was supposed to give him. That much, he should probably ask. “Are… um…. We getting mated?”

“Yes, absolutely,” Tony said. And there went that smile again, just like a star. Bucky liked the stars. Sometimes when it was safe, he’d go to the surface and look at them.

“Okay, that’s… that’s good,” Bucky said. He was pretty sure it was good. He liked Tony, he thought Tony was very pretty.

“Yes, it is,” Tony said. “It’s good.”

“So, I protect you, and bring you food, and-- what’s your side of this?”

Tony laughed, bright and brilliant. “Oh, don’t worry, I can do a lot for you. You’ll see.”

Tony pulled him into the coral castle. The floor was smooth and the walls were pretty, and there were glowing things everywhere, bioluminescent lamps and the mers all backed away, sweeping their hands in front of their chests, a sign of respect.

For…

Bucky turned suddenly suspicious eyes on Tony, who was swimming through the castle at top speeds. “Tony?”

“Yes, my mate-to-be?”

“Who are you?” But Bucky knew, didn’t he?

“Prince Anthony!” a tiny voice squeaked, and there was a little seahorse filly, red and pale at the same time. “You’re almost late, come on, come on, have you chosen?”

Tony pulled Bucky into a small alcove. “I have,” and he turned Bucky’s arm over in his hand and pressed his face against those suckers there.

“Oh, oh!” the little seahorse squealed. She looked very excited, swimming around in a circle and blowing bubbles everywhere. “A ceph!”

“Prince Anthony?” Bucky asked.

“Yes, my mate?”

“Your majesty,” another person said, a manta ray, and he was swimming frantically, trying to keep up with -- King Howard.

Bucky found himself pressed to the floor by a number of guards, mostly mer-lobsters and mer-crabs, who were allowed into the palace the way cephs were not.

“Your majesty,” the ray said. “The sun and the tides and the choice make the Prince’s mate. You cannot--”

“Advisor Rhodes, Anthony is not going to take that half-mauled, reject of a ceph as a mate.”

“I already did,” Tony said, puffing up. “Let him up, that’s my--”

“I refuse to allow this.”

“The prince has chosen,” Rhodes said, and the ray shot a glare at Tony, too, which made Bucky bristle.

A moment later, powerful arms had wrenched away weapons from the mer-guards, and Bucky found himself in front of Tony, guarding his mate, protecting him, holding all the weapons, including two from his own gift basket. “Leave him alone!” Bucky yelled, mantle shivering with rage.

“The prince has chosen,” the little seahorse chimed in.

“The prince,” Tony said, brushing himself off, “has chosen. It’s a done deal.”

King Howard’s lip curled. “We’ll see about that.”

Tony put one hand on Bucky’s shoulder. “This is my mate. I chose his gift. It’s over.”

King Howard didn’t say another word, just swam away.

“It’ll be okay,” Tony whispered. “He can’t change it. My choice. It’s the law.”

The manta-ray, Rhodes, shook his head. “I dunno, Tones, he’s pretty pissed with you.”

“What can he do? It’s the law. Even kings aren’t above the law.”

“Wish you’d told me you were planning a coup, Tones,” Rhodes said.

“I wasn’t planning it, it just-- happened.” Tony squeezed Bucky’s shoulder, cuddling in closer. “I found someone I actually liked. What’s so wrong with that?”

“So, so many things,” Rhodes said. “Look, enjoy your honeymoon, we’ll talk about it after.”

Tony beamed at Bucky. “Come on, this way. I’ll show you where we’re going to live. It’ll be okay. You… uh, you don’t need to carry all those spiky things with you.”

Bucky let go of a few of them, but kept the daggers close. “I’m your mate, I’m supposed to protect you.”

“Well, at least he’s got some sense,” the little seahorse said.

“Hush, Pepper,” Tony said. “I got this under control.”

The seahorse snorted, like she didn’t believe Tony, but didn’t say anything else.

“This way,” Tony said, and Bucky followed his mate deeper into the castle. “Yeah, sorry about that. I probably should have warned you about my dad. He… had someone all picked out for me, and I didn’t want that. I just wanted someone… who looked at _me_.”

“I’m looking,” Bucky promised.

Tony’s place, in the castle, was a small, round alcove, a nook, really. Smooth, and comfortable, with a single point of entrance and a huge stone that Bucky pulled into place in front of the opening. He could still squeeze out, if he needed to, but it was unlikely that anyone else would be able to squeeze in, without Bucky being aware of it.

All in all, very defensible. At least for a while. It would do. For this one night.

“Hello, my mate,” Tony said, after the stone was yanked into place, pushing himself against Bucky’s body, wriggling as Bucky’s arms went around him.

“Hello.” Bucky wrapped himself around Tony, arms twining around Tony’s lithe form. “Now what?”

“Well, I suppose that all depends on what cephs do with their mates,” Tony said, wriggling in ways that Bucky found… interesting.

“Cephs don’t take mates. Not--”

“Oh, well, then… I guess I’ll have to show you what mers do,” Tony said.

Bucky opened his mouth to ask, and found himself with a mouthful of Tony. It was… nice. And then more than nice. “Oh.”

“Oh?”

“ _Oh_.”


End file.
